Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Windrush: The tale of Lynette Reid
IVF: Addiction or maternal instinct?
Picnic paradise in south west London
PAGE 5 PAGE 9PAGE 6
NOT FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE: ENGLAND SUPERFAN’S WORLD CUP SNUB- PAGE 3
Domestic abuse sees huge surge in Croydon
A MUM’S LOVE: INSIDE THE FIGHT FOR CANNABIS OIL
– FULL STORY PAGE 2
@sw_Londonerwww.swlondoner.co.ukJune 21, 2018
DOMESTIC violence attacks in Croydon soared to almost four every day last month, po-lice data reveals.
The horrific surge in abuse against partners rose for the fourth month in a row.
The borough has London’s highest domestic abuse rate and can expect even worse to come this summer as studies show attacks increase by at least 25% when England play in the World Cup.
As part of the attempt to combat this rise, Scotland Yard is introducing an online programme to help offenders change their own behaviour.
Detective Inspector An-thony Reseigh said: “We are passionate about protecting the most vulnerable abuse victims and one of the best ways to do that is to alter the behaviour of perpetrators. We cannot just keep continuously arresting people.
“It’s very difficult to say why our rates of domestic abuse are so particularly high.
“In my personal opinion, there is domestic abuse in one
shape or form in every area of society but I think what is different is the willingness to come forward and report.
“There are sections of the community less willing to en-gage with the police but we are breaking down those bar-riers and managing to gain people’s trust.”
Metropolitan Police data shows reported violence rose by almost 30% in the last four months, from 87 incidents in February to 111 in May. This reflects a shocking upwards trend over the past five years, with April’s 109 attacks mark-ing a 65% increase from the 66 recorded in April 2013.
It is estimated women are abused on average 35 times be-
fore going to police, according to a Croydon council report.
A council spokesperson said they would be on high alert during the World Cup and for many weeks after as victims may continue to come forward. A 2014 Lancaster University study showed Eng-land playing in the tourna-ment causes a rise of 26% in domestic violence if they win and up to 38% when they lose.
Cabinet member for safer Croydon and communities Cllr Hamida Ali said: “We know that reports of domestic violence increase during ma-jor sports events and we want to make sure that anyone in Croydon facing abuse knows where they can get advice and support.
“The combination of a number of factors including emotional stress, heightened alcohol consumption and the intensity of the competition can mean domestic abuse is more likely.”
“We’re putting in place measures in Croydon to en-sure that additional help is on hand at this time when we know that people can be at even greater risk.”
By Vicky Munro
CAMPAIGN: Council poster
POLICE PROBE INTO DOUBLE DEATH AT WANDSWORTH CARE HOME - PAGE 4
Croydon crackdown on fly tipping crooks
Cancel Notting Hill, says police union
‘Toxic’ homeless market is ‘out of control’
June 21, 2018
2www.swlondoner.co.uk
Cannabis oil victory from a Chelsea pubBILLY Caldwell’s campaign team was camped in the base-ment of a Chelsea restaurant when it found out the Home Office was considering releas-ing the epileptic child’s medical cannabis, it can be revealed by South West Londoner.
The team booked a private meeting room in Brinkley’s, less than 400m from Chelsea and Westminster Hospital where Billy was being treated, to work out its next move.
At about 10:30pm on Friday Billy’s team received a long and confusing e-mail from a Home Office official suggesting they would consider giving the can-nabis oil back under certain conditions.
A campaign spokesperson said: “We had to read it a couple of times before we realised what was being said.
“I rushed straight to the hos-pital and went from walking in the door to talking to the most
the hospital and being adminis-tered by the staff.
The team praised the medical staff at Chelsea and Westmin-ster Hospital who were treating Billy.
A campaign spokesperson said: “A lot of medics give up because they don’t understand Billy’s condition, but these guys never gave up.”
Billy, from Co Tyrone in Northern Ireland, has intracta-ble epilepsy meaning that his seizures fail to come under con-trol with treatment.
He can have up to 100 sei-zures a day, but the cannabis oil he takes drastically reduces this and allows for seizure-free nights.
Billy became the first person in the UK to receive a prescrip-tion for medical cannabis, but his GP received summons from Home Office officials last month and was ordered to desist.
Charlotte then took Billy to Toronto, where he was pre-scribed six months of medicine from a children’s hospital.
The team commandeered a big table for eight and spent five days working in the restaurant, drinking one tea or coffee an hour and a bowl of pasta each day, along with plenty of cakes.
Billy’s story has sparked na-tional debate about the legal-ity of medical cannabis, with Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt endorsing a change in the law and Savid Javid agreeing to launch an investigation.
Billy’s mother Charlotte said: “When we were told that the meds were becoming available it was quite difficult to absorb, but as it progressed it started to dawn on us that this was actu-ally happening. And then it did!
“This is an amazing victory for Billy but it needs to change into an amazing victory for hundreds of other families and I will not rest until that is achieved.”
Billy’s condition quickly im-proved and he was discharged on Monday, but he and his moth-er are staying in the area, as the cannabis oil is locked up in
senior person in the hospital in about 90 seconds.”
Billy, 12, is a severely epilep-tic boy whose cannabis oil, used to treat his life-threatening sei-zures, was confiscated by cus-toms at Heathrow when the fam-ily arrived from Canada with the medicine.
He was admitted to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital after his seizures intensified and be-came life-threatening, leading to Home Secretary Savid Javid issuing an emergency medical cannabis license.
The team later set up shop in the Italian restaurant chain Carluccio’s opposite the hospi-tal, where it based its campaign to legalise medical cannabis.
A campaign spokesperson said: “Carluccio’s has been the epicentre of where we are changing the law.
“We have achieved a change in one life, Billy’s, but we have started something much big-ger that will change the lives of thousands - and it all happened in this restaurant.”
THE amount spent on tempo-rary accommodation in Lam-beth more than doubled since 2012, adding to fears the cost of housing homeless families in London has ‘spiralled out of control’’.
Lambeth council’s spending disclosures show it spent £31.3
“It’s a really toxic market. “It’s a problem that has spi-
ralled out of control. There is nothing stopping it from getting worse. There’s nothing in play that will make this improve.”
Cllr Paul Gadsby said: “Lam-beth is in the grips of a housing crisis. Councils will only be able to tackle the crisis if the govern-ment provides support that is urgently needed.”
housing research and policy institute, claimed that the com-bination of these two forces rep-resented an urgent crisis.
She said: “Benefits changes create very insecure tenants at the bottom end of the market and the desperation with which local authorities are seeking pri-vate temporary accommodation means tenants can be placed in very poor accommodation.
million last year on housing some of the most vulnerable homeless families. In 2012-13 the figure was just £15.1 million.
The extra cost comes not only from a dramatic rise in the number of homeless families but also the added cost of hous-ing them in the private rental sector.
Dr Julie Rugg of The Centre for Housing Policy, a leading
CROYDON has the highest level of fly tipping in south-west London despite attempts to tackle the issue and crack-down on unlicensed waste disposal firms, writes Hugo Brown.
In 2017 there were 24,797 incidents or 65 a day, a number that would account for each person in the borough fly tipping at least twice in 12 months.
Only 637 were reported as resulting in action taken, just 2.5%, one of the lowest response rates in London.
A Croydon Council spokesperson said: “Our schemes are quite innovative in what they are trying to do.
“A big problem is people do not assume a place is a fly tip and just throw extra bits on top.”
He added further attempts have been made to tackle the situation by colour coding bin bags for residents and businesses and time banding collec-tions.
The borough’s issues are worsened by illegal and unlicensed waste carriers who are paid to remove waste which they then dump, often in borough parks.
Confusion over collection dates led the council to colour code bin bags for residents and busi-nesses and time band collections.
Officials are targeting vehicles used in fly-tipping as a preemptive way of cutting down on illegal rubbish dumping, which has resulted in the seizure of 31 vehicles.
The strategy is a joint venture across the bor-ough between the Police, HMRC and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency.
The scheme is part of the Don’t Mess With Croydon campaign which combines enforcement with encouraging over 300 local volunteers to lead community clean ups.
In 2017 Croydon Council spent almost £2 million on removing fly tipped waste and clearing rubbish costs the UK an estimated £58 million a year.
Neighbouring boroughs Bromley, and Sutton only record 3264 and 2296 incident a year.
NOTTING Hill Carnival should not take place this year, according to the Metropolitan Police Federa-tion chairman Ken Marsh, writes Abbie Llewelyn.
He said if the event is to continue safely it needs to be taken away from public streets and put in a private space where people can be monitored coming in and out,
He said: “Every year my colleagues turn up for the weekend and it’s a rutting season.
“My colleagues are put on offer to be beaten, burned and spat at and that seems to be accept-able. The same thing will happen this year as it does every year.”
Notting Hill Carnival takes place on the August bank holiday and is a celebration of British West Indian culture.
However, in recent years it has been blighted by violence with 28 poice officers attacked last year.
By Abbie Llewelyn
By Tom Wright
IN CARLUCCIO’S: Billy Caldwell’s mum Charlotte (second from right) and the team work on the medical cannabis campaign
CONTACT DETAILSSWLondoner.co.uk, 247 The Broadway
London, SW19 1SDEditorial offices: 0208 545 1662
e-mail: [email protected]
Graham Moody, [email protected]
James Ayles, [email protected]
Graham Dudman, assistant [email protected]
Borough editorsMarguerite Camu, Rebecca Morley, Mora
Morrison, Ed Sheridan, Hugo Brown
Mitcham’s ball boy: Not a-braid of standing out
Expensive Japanese restaurantfails food safety test
June 21, 2018
3www.swlondoner.co.uk
Southgate lookalike boycotts World CupAN ENGLAND football fa-natic is boycotting his first World Cup for 20 years for po-litical and cultural reasons.
Neil Rowe, 43, has followed England’s football, cricket and rugby teams all over the world for 17 years, costing him approximately £50,000 in the process.
However, the Twickenham resident decided to make a stand against attending the Russian World Cup.
Neil said: “I just couldn’t quite stomach it this time around. I adore England with all my heart and have loved following them to every cor-ner of the globe throughout my life but at some point you have to make a stand of your own.”
Neil, a commercial airline pilot, has taken full advan-tage of discounted flights to help him fly his red and white flag wherever he trav-els. His disillusionment with the World Cup bidding pro-cess, the general behaviour of Russia and FIFA, and de-spair over England’s tourna-ment failures, were enough of a deterrent for the die-hard Londoner.
He said: “I’ve seen first-hand how aggressive the Russian fans can be towards the English at the last Euros in France.
“After my experiences in Marseille it was a concern, although I hear the Russian people have been welcom-ing.”
Fellow fans raised eye-brows when they heard Neil wouldn’t be attending, partly because he will not be there to support his doppelganger, Gareth Southgate, in his first World Cup as manager.
Neil said: “I’ve met South-gate in person a few times now at various matches and events – he’s my brother
ting down watching people play sport.”
Fellow Barmy Army member Paul Winslow de-scribed how Neil’s eccentric fandom sometimes gets him into trouble.
He said: “Him dressing as the Queen must be why Lord’s dislikes the Barmy Army.
“They probably worry about likely confusion dur-ing one of the real sover-eign’s occasional visits to Test matches there.”
Neil has attended four World Cup finals in Japan,
Germany, South Africa and Brazil, England cricket tours to Sri Lanka, South Africa, India, the West Indies and New Zealand as well as Ash-es test matches in both Eng-land and Australia, England rugby tours to France, New Zealand and South Africa.
He has also supported Team GB at three Olympic Games and has followed the British and Irish Lions and Liverpool around the world.
Neil has vowed to return to his usual supporters post as soon as the Russia World Cup is over.
than lifelike Queen Eliza-beth mask, fitted pink dress, pearls and, the apparent key accessory, white satin gloves.
Along with his trademark attire he is known for his rousing rendition of God Save The Queen which, un-like our monarch herself, he delivers with due gusto lead-ing the rest of the Barmy Army in chorus.
Neil said: “I’ve always been the Queen in the Army. I like to think I’m the only one thin enough to fit into the dress and I’m just happy I still do after all of these years of sit-
from another mother.“It’s good to look like him
now while the tournament has only just started but if it takes a turn for the worse I could find myself mistaken for public enemy number one!
“It felt weird not to be in Volgograd to support South-gate and the boys. They’ll probably go and win the whole thing now I’m not there.”
The pilot is also a promi-nent member of England cricket’s Barmy Army, where he dons a slightly less
AN UP-MARKET Japanese restaurant in South Kensing-ton received a zero in their last food hygiene inspection, meaning urgent improve-ments were necessary.
Tokyo Sukiyaki Tei on Sloane Avenue was found to not be monitoring the pH of sushi rice or checking the temperature of frozen sushi fish, essential checks for con-trolling bacteria.
The restaurant, where din-ers pay £10.50 for a side of mushrooms, had an electric fly killer over the food prepa-ration area which could lead to contamination of food by dead flies.
Director Daikichi Saito said: “I was shocked. I was away at the time and I had a member of staff who was supposed to be taking care of things, but he left the com-pany.
“It was unlucky timing for the inspection to come.”
The inspector also found the kitchen ceiling was held together with cardboard and masking tape.
Staff were using the food sink to wash their hands, as the hand washing basin had been broken for weeks.
There was redundant equip-ment found by the rear door that had ‘potential harbour-age for pests’ and staff train-ing in the establishment was ‘very poor’.
The restaurant, which has a 4.5 out of 5 rating on Trip Advisor, has been open for around five years.
It specialisises in sushi rolls and Wagyu beef, which can be grilled at your table.
Mr Saito blamed the poor food hygeine rating on man-agement issues and said that inspectors came again two weeks ago and he is awaiting the results.
He said: “We always go up and down. We used to be three, then one, then five, then four, then five again.
“I expect a three for the next one, because they don’t let you suddenly jump to the high numbers.
“By the end of the year we will be back to five.”
for fierce dress codes and uni-formity.
To his surprise, they em-braced it, evening asking him to fix the Wimbeldon colours of green and purple onto the bands holding the plaits together.
Darren said: “At the Guard of Honour for the women’s final, the Duchess of Kent murmured something to me – I think about my hair – but I couldn’t hear be-cause the crowd was so loud.”
The local newspaper, the Wimbledon Guardian even waded in – captioning his picture with a comment on his ‘unique’ hairstyle.
and excelled at the rigorous physical and theory tests.
But he also thrived at stand-ing still - ball boys must be inconspicuous but constantly alert. Anyone swaying or fidget-ing was rejected immediately.
Now juggling his jobs as a chartered accountant and a gymnastics coach with Exhale – a yoga and bodyweight festival he co-founded, the 35-year-old rarely stands still.
At age 15, Darren’s biggest apprehension before the tour-nament was whether or not the officials would let him keep his new hairstyle. Wimbledon was different back then, renowned
WHEN Darren Onyejekwe walked onto court as Wimble-don ball boy, his cornrow braids were a smash-hit.
Today, exactly 20 years since he made headlines, Darren reckons he might struggle to repeat the look.
He said: “My genes tell me there’s no chance of that now – even if I wanted to. I focus on my beard instead so the shaved head look is here to stay!”
Darren, from Mitcham, was recruited from Eastfields High School, now St Marks Academy,
By Kate Tracey
By Miranda Aldersley
By Abbie Llewelyn
STOCK STILL: Darren Onyejekwe in 1998
FAILED: Tokyo Sukiyaki Tei
FOUR WORLD CUPS: Neil Rowe with Gareth Southgate (centre) and, from top L-R, Japan, Germany, South Africa and Brazil.
June 21, 2018
4www.swlondoner.co.uk
Charity aid helps 1000 familiesA CHILDREN’S charity in Balham helped its 1,000th family, it announced today.
Little Village Wandsworth provides clothes, toys and equipment for children up to the age of five supporting some of the borough’s most vulnerable families.
Volunteers collect donations of high quality baby and children’s items from local parents and host weekly drop-in sessions.
Founder and CEO Sophia Parker said: “Supporting 1,000 families is a fantastic milestone and makes me incredibly proud of our team but sadly also indicates a dire level of need in our local communities.”
Around 30% of children in Wandsworth live in poverty, defined as 60% below the median income ,around £16,320, according to campaigners End Child Poverty.
Keith Morris is a self-employed builder who supports his wife and their two children.
After a car accident in October 2017 left him unable to work, Little Village provided vital assistance.
Keith said: “We couldn’t believe everything that was on offer. It was a life saver.”
He now volunteers for Little Village Wandsworth working with families in situations similar to his own.
By Tevye Markson
Ofo is the new bike on the block in Wandsworth
Jazz lady honoured
Abused victims call for justice
SURVIVORS of a children’s home who say they endured years of abuse are calling for justice and compensation.
The Beecholme Survivors and Justices Group, which has nearly 400 members, alleges widespread sexual and physical abuse occurred at Beecholme Children’s home in Banstead, Surrey, between 1930 and 1974, when the home closed.
The children’s home came under the control of the newly formed Wandsworth Council in 1965. Wandsworth Council and
Surrey Police are working with the group on an investigation into the home, which housed children aged from just a few months to 16 years old, to secure justice for those who were abused.
Graeme Sergeant, who claims he was abused in the home as a child, said: “For those of us who were in Beecholme and suffered,
A PLAQUE celebrating a jazz musician from Tooting was unveiled outside her childhood home.
Sadie Crawford, who travelled the world dancing, singing and playing saxophone, was the first female British Jazz musician ever to be recorded.
The plaque can be seen outside 143 Fountain Road, where she was born in 1885.
More than 300 attended the unveiling organised by the Summerstown182 history project to hear speakers and music, including a performance from Crawford’s great-great nephew clarinetist Stephen Willis.
Mr Willis, a music teacher from Twickenham, said: “Sadie was a real inspiration. She didn’t notice barriers or boundaries other people would notice. “There was wonderful cultural diversity at the event which was really moving.”
Her pioneering performance was recorded in Paris in 1923.
Sadie died in Washington in 1965, where she settled with her second husband.
compensation, similar to that received by victims of the Shirley Oaks abuse scandal at the Lambeth children’s home.
Wandsworth Council said: “There is an ongoing police investigation into allegations relating to events that occurred at Beecholme from the 1950s onwards and we are doing everything we can to support and assist that police investigation.
“We would urge anyone with information to come forward and contact Surrey Police to assist their
investigation.” Three of the perpetrators
have already been convicted of inflicting abuse on children at Beecholme as the council continues to investigate 40 legal cases.
The site, built in 1880, was designed to provide refuge for vulnerable children from impoverished parts of London.
It was known as ‘children’s village’
Anyone affected can call the confidential helpline managed by the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000.
One other aspect included in the report will be the allegation that some of Beecholme’s children were starved by the carers put in charge of them.
Mr Sergeant said: “I have nightmares and flashbacks of what I endured at the home.”
The group is hoping to be compensated with an apology and written acknowledgement from Wandsworth Council of the wrongs the children endured at the home.
Some of the survivors are seeking financial
it brings different memories and doubts.
“Many of us, who are now approaching our latter years, feel that the abuse we suffered has blighted our lives.
“We all have a hatred of authority, some have been unable to hold down a job, others have had mental health issues and others turned to drink and drugs.”
From the 1930s until 1965, the home was administered by the now defunct London County Council. With the abolition of the old authority and the introduction of the new 32 London Boroughs, the children’s home was handed over to Wandsworth.
Beecholme survivors have taken it upon themselves to write their own report on the abuse in an effort to share their stories and pressure the official investigation.
They say the report will concentrate not only on the levels of abuse but also the culture that allowed the abuse to take place.
By Kate Tracey
lightweight, have three gears and built-in lights. Users download the free app and pay directly from an account and then scan the small solar-powered panel on the
rear mudguard to release the wheel and off they go. The charge is 70p per half hour with a daily maximum of £5 taken straight from the account. Monthly passes cost
people a fun, cheap and environmentally friendly way to get around.”
Ofo is the first and largest station-free cycle sharing company. The bikes are
DOCKLESS bike hire company ofo rides into Wandsworth later this month.
The launch will involve a fleet of 200 cycles joining the 2,800 bikes already in use across the capital.
Ofo, styled as oFo to look like a person riding a bike, is a Chinese start-up developed by founder Dai Wen in 2017.
The company is now valued at more than £1.5 billion and has bikes in 250 cities around the world. Wen hopes Ofo will be globally available by 2020.
Currently there are 11,200 Boris Bikes in London but ofo hopes to flood London with 10 times that number and extend their use into the suburbs.
Ofo’s general manager Joseph Seal-Driver said: “We will be working very closely with the council to ensure ofo’s rollout goes as smoothly as possible and to provide the best experience for residents. We are looking forward to seeing our distinctive yellow bikes on the streets giving
By Mora Morrison
SURVIVOR: Graeme Sergeant (inset, as a child) claims he was abused at Beecholme
NEW WHEELS: The distinct yellow dockless bikes can be seen in clusters around the capital
By Euan O’Byrne Mulligan
WANDSWORTH
£9.90 and there is no deposit paid before use. Once the ride is complete, users simply close the lock to complete the ride and make it available for the next person to use.
Ofo bikes can be left anywhere. Users don’t have to hunt for a docking station. Up to 400,000 bikes are stolen in the UK every year but ofo bikes can be left chained to nothing.
Ofo’s Matt Sparkes said: “We’ve had very few thefts. And riders are remarkably tidy, too. You can leave them anywhere, but users tend to park them up next to other bikes.”
The council’s transport spokesman cllr Jonathan Cook said: “We feel there is a place in the borough for a dockless bike hire scheme, but it must be the right one. We’re confident that we’ve found the right partner in ofo.”
Ofo forbids carrying a child or dog on the bike, riding in dangerous weather conditions, such as snow and sleet, or performing stunts or tricks.
Riding under the influence of alcohol is also banned.
Residents win cheap homes bid
HOUSING campaigners were celebrating last night after winning a bid to build 70 affordable homes across Lambeth and Tower Hamlets.
The London Community Land Trust, established to represent residents, will build flats on TFL-owned site on Christchurch Road, Streatham.
They will be priced from a third to half market values relative to local incomes.
Constantino Christou, a student campaigner, born and bred in Lambeth, said: “I see this campaign as a lifeline for thousands of young Londoners who fear they won’t be able to afford to live in the communities they grew up in, even on a decent wage.
“We worked hard to make something of ourselves, studying in underfunded schools to access higher education only to return home to learn we can’t afford to live in our communities as adults.
“This is reality across London and will get worse unless something is done.”
The site is currently used for fly-tipping, and the exact number of planned houses is subject to possible changes. but the mayor has said making small plots of public land available for housing development is a key part of addressing London’s housing shortage.
By Husna Rizvi
Former model celebrates Windrush anniversary
Police do 10k stops
Friends mournlives of young graffiti artists EXPRESSIONS of grief, anger and celebration were made yesterday at a makeshift memorial to three young graffiti artists killed at Loughborough Junction.
The bodies of artists Jack Gilbert, 23, Alberto Fresneda Carrasco, 19, and Harrison Scott-Hood, 23, known by their graffiti tags as K-bag, Trip and Lover respectively, were found by a train driver at 7.30am on Monday.
They were found on a track connecting Denmark Hill and Brixton overground, which police said made them especially vulnerable to oncoming trains.
STOP and search could be murder suppression, a police chief inspector claimed.
Police statistics show 10,924 stop and searches occurred in Lambeth from April 2017 to the end of March 2018, com-pared with 1,341 in Richmond.
Acting chief inspector Tere-sa Hubbard-Chason said stop and search was important tac-to prevent violent crime.
She said: “Stop and search-es are a vital way to prevent extreme forms of violence we’ve seen recently. I see it as murder suppression.”
Figures show that in this period, the homicide rate in Lambeth was five, with a Lon-don borough average of 4.8.
However, Ms Hubbard-Cha-son said you can’t prove a direct link between stop and searches and the murder rate.
She said: “We have removed a significant number of knives and weapons as a direct result of stop and search.”“This has enabled us to sign-post people to other agencies, gain intelligence, and hopeful-ly prevent crime.”
Daniel, a fellow artist, 28, said the men were highly respected within the graffiti scene.
He said: “They’re well known, definitely. They loved it but at the same time it’s still sad.
“When you hear someone dies on tracks you know straight away they were graffiti artists. It was all over social media, everyone was rushing around trying to make sure people were okay.
“What happened won’t deter people. I’ve been on the same tracks myself recently, I’ve been drunk on train tracks – you take risks. I wouldn’t say I’m not going to do it again. I’m addicted to it. It’s been in my blood for years.
“I’m not stupid, I know what I’m doing is wrong and I know some people think it’s vandalism but there’s a lot worse things in the world.
“One of my friends was really close with them and they’d invited him to come with them that night. I can see what he’s going to do. He’ll be tagging their names all over. You’ll see their names everywhere. ”
Police have yet to establish exactly how the men died.
A spokesperson for British Transport Police said: “It is now believed the men were hit by an out of service passenger train shortly after 1am. That train has been identified and has been forensically examined.”
In response, one piece of graffiti left at the scene read: “Brian Cooke called us ‘scum’. He’s a c***.”
Extra police officers were called to guard the scene but friends of the men felt the act of ‘vandalism’ was a fitting tribute.
A friend of Mr Carrasco, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “Alby died doing what he loved. He was an artist, he was studying at an art college. He was going to be a graphic designer.
“He was always happy and he wouldn’t want us to be sad. I like the graffiti, it shows character. It’s what he was known for, it’s the sort of things he’d be saying if he was here.”
Spray cans were discovered near their bodies and the family of Mr Carrasco confirmed the friends were painting graffiti at the time of the accident.
A small memorial began by the station entrance in the early hours of Tuesday morning, with an artist named only as ‘K from Loughborough Road’, leaving a bouquet of flowers and three spray cans.
Friends of the men came to the scene, leaving behind notes, flowers and a flurry of graffiti.
Anger was expressed towards former TFL board member and suspended Conservative chairman Brian Cooke, who earlier tweeted the men were ‘common scum’.
By Tom Wright
Black Cultural Archives will launch a projection of iconic images from Windrush onto their building, starting in the next few days, which will run throughout the night.
Mr Reid, from Brixton, added: “I guarantee these are striking images and 90% of them no one will have ever seen before.”
More than 300 of the passengers came to Lambeth, first staying in temporary accommodation in the underground deep-shelter on Clapham Common.
Harry Jacobs, who had returned from the war two years earlier in 1946, acquired a camera and began knocking on doors on Coldharbour Lane offering to take portrait photos.
He became the portrait photographer for the new
He said: “My auntie is absolutely one of the key figures of that time.
“She used to be a hairdresser and ended up running her own business,
teaching, and training others in hairdressing as well.”
He added that her age is a closely guarded family secret, but she is at least in her late 80s or early 90s.
RETIRED model and hairdresser Lynette Reid stands proudly at a photograph exhibition where a photograph of her is displayed, taken shortly after arriving in Britain on SS Empire Windrush.
Lynette, holding a hairdressing manual in the photograph, was pictured at an exhibition in Lambeth celebrating the 70th anniversary of her taking her first steps on UK soil.
The boat docked in Tilbury on June 22, 1948.
Her nephew Paul Reid, 55, is the director of the Black Cultural Archives in Brixton and their new heritage centre is located on Windrush Square.
By Rebecca Morley
A FITTING TRIBUTE: “You’re going to see their names everywhere. They loved it, but it’s still sad.”
MODEL POSE: Lynette Reid pictured at the Lambeth exhibition
By Rebecca Morley
June 21, 2018
5www.swlondoner.co.uk
LAMBETH
West Indian community and started taking shots of families posed in the corners of their front rooms.
Later he acquired a studio in Stockwell where he continued photography for another 40 years.
Cllr Sonia Winifred said: “One reason they were attracted to Brixton was because of Gus Leslie, a Jamaican landlord with rooms to let in the streets around Coldharbour Lane.
“This area in Brixton quickly became the nucleus of the Jamaican community in London and by the 1960s, two streets, Somerleyton Road and Geneva Road, had the highest levels of West Indian home ownership in the UK.”
A Snapshot of Brixton is at Lambeth Town Hall to July 6.
June 21, 2018
6www.swlondoner.co.uk
Legendary club fights for survival
MITCHAM Cricket Club launched a fundraising campaign on Tuesday night to save their 115-year-old cricket pavilion from being redeveloped.
As part of the campaign a GoFundMe page has been set up, and Lashings XI, considered the Harlem Globetrotters of cricket, will be playing a match on the 333-year-old cricket green to raise funds to save the quaint historic pavilion.
Lashings World XI said that Mitcham Cricket club is ‘a fine club with a great history which must be allowed to continue’.
The freehold to the cricket pavilion was sold to Phoenix Group Investments as part of the Burn Bullock Pub freehold in 2008.
Julia Gault, Secretary of Mitcham Cricket Club said: “Since then we have tried to get the new owners to give us a new lease for the pavilion.“It has been 10 years of limbo, because we don’t have a lease we can’t apply for any grants.”
A public consultation into the redevelopment of the cricket pavilion and Burn Bullock pub will be held on June 25th. from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at Vestry Hall, 336 London Road, Mitcham.
Phoenix Group Investments did not respond to requests for comment.
By Luke O’Reilly
Sex, rugs & sausage rolls: Margy’s dream picnic
£330k on empty gym
Pool to reduce disabled access
DISABLED swimmers are afraid of being left to change on the floor after plans for an ultra easy-to-use changing room were dropped from the blueprint of a new multi-million pound leisure complex.
Morden Leisure Centre is due to open in October featuring a 25-metre pool, café and gym.
The plans had also included a ‘Changing Places’ room with a ceiling hoist system for moving disabled people across the room quickly and painlessly, as well as a height-adjustable changing bench.
Disability action groups last night slammed the decision and urged the council to reconsider.
Lyla Adwan-Kamara, CEO of the disability organisation Morden Centre for Independent Living, said: “Without Changing Places toilets, families can be forced to risk their own health and
MERTON Council spent more than a quarter of a million pounds on maintaining an empty Wimbledon building since December 2017, it was revealed last night.
The old Virgin Active building at Battle Close North Road has been closed since December 2017.
The costs of £336,642.66 included £241,110 for business rates and for securing and cleaning the property after 26 squatters broke in.
Ongoing monthly charges are anticipated to be £27,000 per month, although the council say they are working to minimise the costs.
Merton born entrepreneur Danny Keith, 31, had a gym turned down by the council.
Mr Keith said: “There’s not fast movement on it, and it’s just racking up this massive cost.”
A council spokesman said: “We cannot allow a public site to be used for private profit on terms that are bad for local taxpayers.
“We will now look to whether there is a chance to deliver more much-needed housing.”
children onto toilets, and we are asking them to change young children on the floor – which is absolutely gross. The very least we should do is make their jobs easier.”
Merton resident and Changing Places campaigner Somayeh Aghnia added: “It’s all about educating disabled people and the rest of society about the rights they have as human beings and how we can help them be independent.
“But this seems to say these people shouldn’t be there. It’s just excluding them.”
Changing Places website includes a map of where to find these multifunctional spaces, and it shows that not a single one exists in the entire borough of Merton.
The planning statement for the new centre says: “The Morden Leisure Centre has been designed with care and attention towards those with disabilities, the elderly and children.”
Merton Council did not respond to requests for comment.
Jackie Schneider said most people were unaware of their value. She said: “As a society we need to have some frank conversations.
“One in every 260 people need these facilities and they are currently faced with the choice of either staying home or going out but not eating or drinking.
“I hope this pool will be proudly here for hundreds of years and we need to think about future generations.
“Carers are breaking their backs struggling to lift teenage
safety and that of their loved one by changing them on a toilet floor.
“And without adequate toilet facilities, disabled people report they are regularly dehydrating themselves, or just not going out.
“We are calling on Merton Council to put it back.”
Vaila Morrison, who has a disabled daughter, said: “We enjoy swimming wherever we can access. Perhaps they don’t want our kind of people (or our custom) in Merton. This is somewhere we could have enjoyed with the kids’ cousins when we visit south west London, but not if there’s no Changing Places.”
Changing Places have been recommended in leisure centres since 2009 but, as they are not a legal requirement, most places provide only basic accessible toilets.
These may be the answer for wheelchair users, but can exclude those who extra carers or equipment.
Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Wimbledon
By Miranda Aldersley
Even if all other parks in this corner of London were dirty, dodgy, and dog-ridden (picnickers don’t like dogs: protecting the quiche is more important). But Wimbledon
Park. This will always be your trump card.
I don’t care if you’ve lived on Mont Blanc, scaled the 7 summits, or swam across Lake Titicaca – rural
much like Black Riders fear crossing the ford into Rivendell (because south west London is basically Rivendell and the rest is Mordor).
The south is much better.
THERE is a reason why I have decided to crawl out of hibernation to report on picnics throughout this corner of London. Not only is it National Picnic Week, but in this Waitrose-loving land of district line delays, MILFs, DILFs, and spoilt children, we really do lay claim to the best greenery London has to offer.
Without further ado, here are my top three places to picnic, not just in south west London but the whole world.
Three perfect places to set up a feast to make passers-by envious, and children learn that adults don’t share. Wimbledon Park. Why would you picnic in North London? The inhabitants stop short of crossing the Thames
By Marguerite Camu
UNWELCOME: The six-lane, 25-metre pool will be inaccessible to severely disabled people
By Luke O’Reilly
MERTON
bliss doesn’t exist outside Wimbledon Park.
Even on a heaving Sunday afternoon, it’s incredible how you and your loved one can find a quiet spot amongst the ferns and…have a picnic.Richmond Park: Not to be confused with the perpetually gridlocked Regent’s Park, where hanging around for a picnic is only going to land you with emphysema.
Here, you can de-clog your lungs with healthy gulps of fresh air. You may even spot the odd Bambi (no longer orphaned by Henry VIII) gallivanting down grassy swathes. Brockwell Park: Who wants to picnic with the hipsters of the east - who would probably be too busy Instagramming the #vegan #glutenfree sausage rolls to actually provide any kind of #authentic company – when you could picnic with the hipsters of the south, who play lawn bowls on sunny afternoons? You could even build up your appetite with a swim in Brockwell Lido or a very hefty game of ping pong.
Picnic correspondent MARGUERITE CAMU reveals her definitive top three lunch spots in south west London
DELICIOUS: Picnic fanatic Marguerite has been on more than 100 picnics in her lifetime
Nightmare commutes continueHUNDREDS of train cancellations and delays across south-west London triggered another vote of no confidence, as Chris Grayling clung on as Transport Secretary on Tuesday.
Govia Thameslink Rail removed 230 daily services on 20 May and head Charles Horton resigned last Friday following widespread criticism of the changes.
Croydon commuters are among the worst affected and Transport cabinet member Stuart King called for changes in ownership as a solution to the problem.
He said: “People can’t get home to see their children before they go to bed or have missed job interviews.
“It is a failure in the government’s approach to managing these franchises and their incentives, we need a service with direct democratic accountability.”
Commuters echoed the councillor’s comments with #failingrayling and #southernfail appearing frequently in the Croydon Twittersphere.
Martyn Horner Glister said: “Good old Southern Rail. Even the #Grenfell minute silence was delayed at East Croydon. Then was interrupted by an announcement.”
In 2017 GTR cancelled one service every ten minutes.
By Hugo Brown
‘Tinder’ of gardening vs allotment waiting lists
Boxparkbooze-up
Care home deaths spark neglect probe
POLICE are investigating a Croydon care home after two of its residents died.
Scotland Yard confirmed on Tuesday a probe is underway into neglect allegations at Elmwood Nursing Home, following the deaths of a man and a woman in their eighties.
The home scored the lowest rating of ‘Inadequate’ in an inspection by the watchdog Care Quality Commission (CQC) last month and was put into special measures.
In their report, CQC inspectors said: “People continued to be at risk of unsafe care and treatment, we observed people being ignored
CROYDON Boxpark food stalls are sharing England’s world cup success as match screenings offset disappoint-ing sales.
A twitter video showing football fans celebrating Eng-land’s win against Tunisia at boxpark went viral on Mon-day night.
Thai Express operations director Uzma Pattani said: “The normal downtime gap between lunch and dinner is busy now, we are seeing a full day rush.”
However, Selsdon and Add-ington village Councillor Hel-en Pollard argued more needs to be done to promote year round success for the venue.
She said: “When it first started my whole family went along, now it’s just loud and people are staring at screens.
“From the traders point of view it has not delivered, the rents are expensive so they need to sell more food but it’s one big sports bar.
“I don’t want my town to be made famous just for people getting drunk.”
home, aged 77.The family had meetings
with the home and social services about his care, to try and prevent poor care happening to other residents.
But Ms Williams added: “Even a year on from my grandad, there’s still an issue. It’s just sad that it’s had to be so many people that have been hurt or not cared for properly for it to get to this point.”
There is no suggestion that Mr Lippett’s removal from the home is related to the current police investigation.
Elmwood is run by HC-One, Britain’s largest care home operator. Croydon Council suspended new placements at the home last year after a resident badly burned herself.
A HC-One spokesperson said: “We have apologised to Mr Lippett’s family. The services we provided them fell short of the high standards we aim to provide for residents.
“We completed a comprehensive internal investigation and have made improvements in response to our findings. We continue to work closely with the Local Authority and CQC to make sure the home is providing the high-quality service that all residents expect and deserve.
“Our senior and regional teams are supporting the home with positive progress already noted by our partners, and this situation is being closely followed at the highest levels of our organisation.”
have been no arrests.”A relative of a former
resident told SWLondoner she removed her grandfather from Elmwood, concerned about his care during the last two weeks of his life.
Lissa Williams, 37, removed Gordon Lippett, from the home in May 2017.
The stay-at-home mum claimed Gordon – who suffered from dementia and cancer – was left sitting in his own vomit multiple times, as he was repeatedly fed food he could not digest.
On another occasion Gordon was allegedly left slumped outside in his wheelchair outside for three hours. He passed away shortly after being removed from the
and spoken to in an impolite manner.
“We saw people treated in ways that were not dignified and people’s privacy was not always respected.”
Inspectors also found the service was not well-led, there wasn’t sufficient protection from malnourishment and inaccuracies in care plans were putting residents at risk.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “Detectives from the Community Safety Unit at Croydon are working with the CQC following allegations of potential neglect at a care home.
“The allegations were made to police following the deaths of a man and woman, who were in their early 80s. There
By Josh Salisbury
Society spokesperson said: “Allotment waiting lists can seem prohibitively long in densely populated built up cities like London.
“We would encourage would be plot-holders to get their name down for a plot and grow their own at home or in a garden share whilst they wait.
“The sense of achievement when you cook up your own fruit and vegetables and the outdoor activity contribute enormously to a plot-holder’s sense of well-being.”
As well as tackling growing allotment waiting lists, Joyce says Lend and Tend addresses topical London issues like loneliness, anxiety, a lack of fresh produce at food banks, a lack of access to green space in urban areas and the growing number of young people renting or living in
sites, there are 375 people waiting to be allocated a plot.
Joyce, an actress, said: “There’s been a recent flurry of need for garden tenders and there are thousands of
people on waiting lists for allotments in suburban areas – if you’re waiting for an allotment please sign up to Lend and Tend.”
A National Allotment
URBAN gardeners looking for land to cultivate are in luck as a community garden sharing scheme provides an alternative to lengthy allotment waiting lists.
Via its online patch-match service, Lend and Tend matches those who don’t have a garden or allotment and would like access to one with people who have gardens but are unable to tend to them.
Project founder and Croydon resident Joyce Veheary, 33, says Lend and Tend is the ‘Tinder’ of the gardening world and is urging those on allotment waiting lists to sign up to it.
Latest figures show that for the 380 allotment plots in Croydon, across six allotment
By Helen Taylor
INVESTIGATION: Deaths probe follows apology for treatment of Gordon Lippett (inset)
GREEN FINGERS: Joyce patch-matches urban gardeners
By Hugo Brown
June 21, 2018
7www.swlondoner.co.uk
CROYDON
shared houses who don’t have access to a garden.
She said: “I always feel a lot calmer after gardening and there isn’t a person in modern life who isn’t affected by some form of anxiety caused by traffic, noise and pollution.
“Food banks are desperately in need of fresh produce and lower income families could completely, if not entirely, support themselves on growing their own food.
“Metaphorically, as well as actually, gardening does root you, and young people are so rootless.
“So many children grow-up without know where a strawberry comes from or how a tomato is grown, and that’s a real shame.”
To join Lend and Tend visit www.lendandtend.com.
June 21, 2018
8www.swlondoner.co.uk
Busker ban on the cardsSTREET performance could soon be banned on Portobello Road.
Kensington & Chelsea (K&C) Council are considering Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) to clamp down on busking across the borough.
Policies floated in its public consultation range from banning of performance in the PSPOs’ range to restriction of amplified music.
Musician Aaron Spiers, 33, said: “Street performance makes a difference to any area, adding vibrancy and colour.”
“People go to Portobello Road to take in the shops and markets, but also to see ‘what’s going on’.
“Banning amps and microphones would be a way make performing on the street almost impossible.
“If people want to engage with me, they do so. Those that don’t, walk on by.
K&C Council receive an average of 1,200 complaints of “noise pollution and anti-social busking”, saying they want to work with performers to find a solution.
A council spokesperson said: “More needs to be done to support and regulate our busking community.
“Our goal is to ensure that street entertainment doesn’t impact negatively on residents’ quality of life.”
By Ed Sheridan
United Voices: RBKC cleaners demand fair pay
Glass act at college
Grenfell families torn in fight for housing securityFAMILIES displaced by the Grenfell disaster are allegedly being forced to choose between returning to housing close to the tower or the instability of temporary accommodation.
Becka Hudson, coordinator of the Radical Housing Network (RHN), claimed around 74 households – many of which were families – had been told they must either return to their flats in the same estate as the tower or accept temporary accommodation and give up their tenancies.
She said: “They’ve been given this impossible
GLASS-BLOWING students at Kensington & Chelsea College (KCC) are celebrating prestig-ious awards for their work.
Caroline O’Connor and Janine Greenberg study the BTEC in Art & Design at KCC.
They will both receive fi-nancial and professional boosts as part of the prizes.
A KCC spokesperson said: “Our huge congratulations go to both Caroline and Janine, who have been awarded for their high quality of work and knowledge in Glass.”
The good news comes after the pair has been shortlisted for the Inspired by the V&A Awards, where Janine won in the ‘Glass and Stained Glass’ category.
Ms. O’Connor was awarded a scholarship with New York’s Corning Museum of Glass this summer.
Ms. Greenberg won the £1,200 second prize in the Stevens Competition for Ar-chitectural Glass, as well as two 10-week work placements as part of the Ashton Hill Awards.
yesterday – and the tower is right there.”
Many residents from the wider estate are still living in hotels and temporary accommodation across London.
“People in temporary accommodation are moved over and over again and from borough to borough,” Ms Hudson said.
“Mrs Jafari’s family has been traumatised and needs stability, and they’re not being granted that because their housing rights are being diminished.”
She called on local and central government to fund more social housing.
“There are empty buildings all over the place. If central government was prepared to invest in them there would be some kind of solution,” she said.
“If more properties were purchased, these families could be put into long-term, secure housing.”
Dominic Nutt, deputy leader of the council, said: “All the Grenfell housing policies are constantly reviewed as we’re trying to get things right.
“There is no policy recommendation yet and no decision has been taken. We’re waiting for a full council meeting to make any decision.”
in the flat and warned he would be returning ‘soon’, meaning the family will be forced to leave at short notice.
“It’s not just Grenfell Tower and losing my father-in-law and friends,” she said. “The children have memories, so for them it’s difficult to live here. We can’t call it home anymore.”
Mrs Jafari added her children had been traumatised by losing their grandfather as well as friends they went to nursery and school with.
“You cannot live here, this is not living,” she said.
“Every day we are here my children cry and cry. I feel like the fire happened just
ultimatum, There’s been nothing in writing to the families but they’re verbally being told they need to fully move into their temporary flat and give up their flat on the estate.”
Mother-of-four Zainab Jafari and her family watched Grenfell burn from their flat on the night of the fire. Her children’s grandfather, who lived in the tower, could not escape and died in the blaze.
Mrs Jafari said Kensington & Chelsea (K&C) Council promised her a new place to live, but she had so far only secured unfurnished temporary accommodation. Her landlord keeps belongings
By Chloe Taylor
ham and Westminster coun-cils, outsourcing £150m of services like building mainte-nance to Amey until 2023.
The union believes a victory in K&C could catalyse change in the other boroughs, as Amey would face pressure to award all workers the London Living Wage.
An Amey spokesman said: “We are aware of the union’s concerns and are in discus-sions with them and the coun-cil about this issue.
“Any increase in wages would only be possible follow-ing agreement with the coun-cil.”
They added: “We are contin-uing discussions with all par-ties and have not received any formal notification of strike action.”
A K&C Council spokesper-son, said: “We expect our con-tractors to comply fully with the law.”
work and so we neglect our children. The money we earn is not enough to survive de-cently.”
The union is also request-ing occupational sick pay and equal pay between agency and council workers, who already earn £10.20 an hour.
A 31-year-old mother, who supports a two-year-old daughter, said her take home pay is £1,179 a month and her monthly rent is £1,560.
She added: “At the end of the month I have around £20.
“It’s difficult, especially when there are children. My husband and I spend all our salary on the rent and bills and we don’t have enough left for anything else.
“We even walk to work be-cause we cannot afford trans-portation.”
In 2011 a ‘Tri-borough’ project was agreed between RBKC, Hammersmith & Ful-
CLEANING staff are threat-ening to strike for the London Living Wage and believe their campaign could have a domi-no effect on neighbouring bor-oughs.
Cleaners of town halls in Kensington and Chelsea say they will strike unless their minimum wage of £7.83 an hour rises to £10.20.
The United Voices of the World Union, representing the cleaners, said the strike could happen in July unless Amey - the outsourced com-pany employed by Kensington and Chelsea (K&C) Council - agrees to its demands.
One of the cleaners pre-paring to strike, a 47-year-old mum, said: “This is the rich-est borough in London and they pay a pittance, forcing us to look for more hours of
By Lucas Cumiskey
GRENFELL’S GRIEF: Survivors still struggle for housing security a year after the tragedy
SOLIDARITY: K&C’s cleaners threaten to strike for living wage
By Ed Sheridan
KENSINGTON & CHELSEA
Credit: J. Miller.
June 21, 2018
9www.swlondoner.co.uk
IVF treatment: Addiction or a maternal impulse?
AN IVF CYCLE
JESSICA HEPBURN:THE first stage is down-reg-ulation. You are given drugs which shut off your repro-ductive cycle so the doctors can get it under control.
You do this by injecting yourself every day for two weeks, which is a shock for a lot of people. After that, ovaries are stimulated with self-administered injections.
What IVF tries to do is get your ovaries to release more than one egg to increase the probability of fertilisation.
You then have your eggs collected under sedation, usu-ally general anaesthetic.
The man then goes off to produce his sperm sample, which is put together with the eggs. The next day you ring up to see whether the eggs and sperm have fertilised.
That is quite a nerve rack-ing experience. Somewhere between day 2 and day 6 those embryos you have created go back inside you.
For many, this is the worst part of the process. You have to wait for two weeks to find out whether the embryos have implanted. None of that whole process is as bad as what is happening to you psy-chologically.
We’ve all heard of the IVF success stories. But what about the countless times it failed to produce those longed-for results? During Fertility Fest in Shepherd’s Bush, MARGUERITE CAMU spoke to three women about the heartache and trauma ofundergoing treatment and the constant danger of becoming addicted to IVF.
DESPERATE TO BE A MUM: Jessica underwent 11 IVF rounds and had multiple miscarriages
started trying for a baby with her now ex-partner, but after a year she was diagnosed with ‘unexplained infertility’.
She called their 13-year drive for a baby a ‘fertility odyssey’, which included mul-tiple miscarriages, an ectopic pregnancy, and £70,000 in bills.
“Of course when you’re desperate to have this family that your happiness seems to depend on, you will spend an-ything.
“It becomes like monopoly money.
“You’re maxing out the credit card, you’re re-mort-gaging the house, you’re bor-rowing money from family and friends.
“I was very secretive about what I was going through and my parents didn’t really know all the ins and outs until after-wards.
“I think they would have been shocked if they knew how much money we were spending, but like all loving parents they would have tried to help if they could and did help us financially as many parents do.
“I made the decision to go privately before investigating it. The moment you accept you need help, you want it to hap-pen immediately.
“I didn’t want to be on a waiting list. I was totally igno-rant about what journey I was about to embark on.
“Then you are in this situ-ation when you are in such a desperate race against time that you are throwing money at it. You go for all the add-ons being offered by the fertility clinic.”
An average cycle of treat-ment costs anywhere between £2,000 and £5,000, but with ad-ditional treatments the cost can easily reach £15,000 a cy-cle.
It’s easy to rack up a large bill – particularly since the success rate of IVF is lower than one might expect.
For those under 35, IVF treatment offers a 29% chance of a live birth, which goes down to 15% for 38 to 39-year-olds, and to just 3% for women aged between 43 and 44.
Similarly to Jessica, Cathy, a 41-year-old theatre manager, and her partner cleaned out their bank accounts of £20,000 and borrowed money from friends and family to fund four unsuccessful rounds of IVF and two operations.
THROUGHOUT the six-day long Fertility Fest in Shep-herd’s Bush, it became clear IVF has the potential to be-come addictive.
Everyone laughed when a panellist joked: “I feel like I’m in AA when I say I have been through 11 rounds of IVF.”
IVF isn’t addictive in the heroin addict sense. It’s ad-dictive in the way a gambler is a slave to Next Time Lucky, where the possibility of win-ning more often than not re-sults in empty pockets and broken hearts.
The panellist was Fertility Fest’s 47-year-old founder, Jes-sica Hepburn.
Smitten with her partner in their North London flat and flying high as executive direc-tor of the Lyric Hammersmith theatre, to all outward appear-ances Jessica was living the dream.
“But I had a secret life,” she said. “And my secret life was that I was desperately trying to become a mother.”
Jessica was 34 when she
to then work out how you’re going to deal with that.
“But that’s life too. Some-thing happens unexpectedly and you have to deal with that.
“I’ve always focused on my career and thought kids would just come naturally.
“I have fears about the fu-ture.
“You have different things come up at different times.
“So I will see a cute kid walking down the street and it’ll make me cry.
“Or I think if I don’t have kids, then I will never be a grandparent. But you just have to deal with it.”
The pains of fertility treat-ment - which in many cases raises hopes only to dash them - are rarely spoken about.
Less spoken about, however, is the pain of giving up fertili-ty treatment.
The waving off of a dream that has only become more po-tent with each failed attempt, the saying goodbye to a next time that could potentially hold all that you’ve wished for.
Jessica’s most recent book 21 Miles: Swimming in Search of the Meaning of Moth-erhood is published by Un-bound.
Cathy suffers from endome-triosis, a condition affecting fertility, and is now looking into egg donation.
She explains: “Fertility treatment literally is gam-bling.
“You’re dealing with these levels of probability all the time.
“It’s definitely a highly un-predictable, emotional roller-coaster.
“When we were first strug-gling to conceive, I read lots of stuff online and on forums with people saying they were on these crazy diets and I just thought ‘Oh God, that’s so cra-zy’.
But before you know it, you’re on this high protein, low carbohydrate diet, no caf-feine, no alcohol, and we lost close friendships because we couldn’t join in on their life-styles.
“Part of what makes infer-tility so difficult to deal with, is in society you’re taught that if you work hard at some-thing, you’ll get it.
“But you can’t project man-age your body.
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been told about a friend of a friend who, as soon as they stopped trying and as soon as they gave up, then it happened.
“The problem is that peo-ple just can’t accept the fact that they might not be able to solve it, that there might not be a solution, that it might not have a happy ending.”
Unlike Cathy and Jessica, one couple at Fertility Fest es-tablished a firm cut-off point to take effect after their sec-ond IVF treatment.
Hannah, 41, and Ricardo, 34, met in a casino ten years ago and started trying for a baby when they married six years later. They recently under-went their second IVF, and ex-plained why they had to stop there.
“It’s sort of like gambling when you’re doing IVF, so it costs us £10,000 quid a pop, and it’s not guaranteed in the end that you get a kid.
“So you keep spending and spending and spending, and you get in a big debt, then you’re in a hole you can’t get out of.
“It’s hard to decide to stop.“If you always think you’re
going to have children, and then suddenly have to face the fact that you won’t, you’ve got NO LONGER SECRET: Jessica founded Fertility Fest
